From September 23-27, USAID Administrator Raj Shah and other Agency leaders will participate in several events taking place during and around the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced today the launch of Women and Girls Lead Global, a public-private partnership between USAID, the Ford Foundation, and the Independent Television Service (ITVS), working in collaboration with CARE. The partnership is a 3-year, 9-country, 30-film media project to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide, creating a 10-episode documentary film series each year about women and girls rising above dire circumstances to seek better lives for themselves, their families, and communities.

Administrator Rajiv Shah will host an event Wednesday, Sept. 26, highlighting the progress USAID is making with international partners toward meeting the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDG). USAID is co-hosting the event with its British counterpart, the Department for International Development (DFID), to highlight the role the two agencies play in meeting global MDG targets.

The U.S. Agency for International Development welcomes the approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of final rules implementing Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Section 1504, the Cardin-Lugar rule, sets a new standard for transparency in the extractive industries. Under the rules issued by the SEC, oil, natural gas, and mining companies who are required to file annual reports with the SEC will have to disclose certain payments they make to governments for resource development on a project-by-project basis.

With the support of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) neglected tropical disease (NTD) Program, has supported countries to deliver more than half a billion NTD treatments in just six years, reaching cumulatively more than 250 million people in 20 countries. Leveraging unprecedented donations of medicines by pharmaceutical companies, global neglected tropical disease (NTD) partnerships are supporting countries around the world to control and eliminate these diseases.

New Report says Electronic Payments can lift Millions out of Poverty; Peru, Kenya, Colombia, and Republic of Philippines First Governments to Make Commitments

NEW YORK — The U.N. Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID), The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Citi (NYSE: C), Ford Foundation, Omidyar Network, and Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) announced today the launch of the Better Than Cash Alliance. The new initiative will call on governments, the development community and the private sector to adopt the use of electronic payments for programs that support people living in poverty—and provide resources to those who commit to make the transition.

Joined by Senator Lindsay Graham, Administrator Shah to visit Clemson University

On Tuesday September 18th, Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will travel to Clemson South Carolina and Clemson University for a day long visit with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and hosted by Clemson University President James F. Barker. Clemson University has a long and proud of history of developing innovative approaches supporting U.S. international aid efforts.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Together with the Philippines’ major mobile money service providers, the U.S. Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) today launched the Scaling Innovations in Mobile Money (SIMM) Project. This project, first announced on June 8 during a meeting between President Benigno Aquino III and (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah in Washington, is the first full-scale mobile money project supported by USAID in the Philippines.

Today, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of its continued support of women, girls, and families launched a series of 18 short educational and advocacy videos aimed at increasing global awareness and bringing about social change for critical health, and gender equality and empowerment as part of the Half the Sky Movement.

The Half the Sky Movement is a multi-donor, multimedia platform based on Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s best-selling book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Through the FHI 360-managed Communication for Change (C-Change) project, USAID provided support to the Half the Sky Movement which is developed by Show of Force in collaboration with Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn and in partnership with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the Independent Television Service (ITVS).

On September 12, U.S. Ambassador to South Sudan Susan D. Page and President of the Republic of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit inaugurated South Sudan’s 192-kilometer-long Juba-Nimule Road, the largest infrastructure project ever built in South Sudan, and the young nation’s first paved highway.

The inauguration comes one day after the two governments signed a new bilateral assistance agreement, which provides the legal framework for the U.S. Government's provision of development assistance to South Sudan.

This is a truly historic moment. Thirty years ago, 46,000 children died every single day. As we see from today’s announcement that number has fallen below 19,000. While this progress is extraordinary, a child dying anywhere in the world is a tragic loss and undermines peace and stability.

This year, the United States co-hosted a Child Survival Call to Action that challenged the world to reduce child mortality to below 20 child deaths per 1000 live births in every country by 2035. Assuming countries already on track continue to make progress at their current rates, achieving this target will save an additional 5.6 million children’s lives every year. That means 50 million more children will survive and thrive.

The Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) Science program, a partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), has issued a second call for proposals that includes new countries and special funding opportunities.

The Governments of the United States and Brazil today formalized a partnership with the Government of Honduras to increase agriculture production, decrease undernutrition, and promote renewable energy in Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Today, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its partners World Vision and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) announced 32 winning innovations for All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development grant competition during an International Literacy Day celebration at USAID headquarters in Washington, DC. The competition to create innovative solutions to improve early grade reading in the developing world elicited more than 450 proposals from more than 75 countries.

On September 7, “International Literacy Day”, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah will announce the award nominees for its grant competition focused on literacy called “All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development”. USAID is hosting this event, in collaboration with the Global Partnership for Education, the Brookings Institution and Lions Clubs International, to highlight the vital role literacy plays in fostering development and growth. Thirty-two innovators were selected from 450 applications for grant financing of activities to address illiteracy in more than 20 countries. All grantees will showcase their innovations at a DevelopmentXChange.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dr. Karen Hilliard was sworn in today as the new Mission Director for Armenia for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg administered the oath of office.

As Director of the Mission, Dr. Hilliard will have the primary responsibility for overseeing programs that aim to increase development, strengthen democratic institutions, governance, and civil society, and improve the quality of health and social services.

Administrator Shah to Participate in Yemen Donor Conference and Travel to Refugee Areas along the Jordanian Border

From September 3rd-5th Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Amman, Jordan. In Riyadh Administrator Shah will be leading the U.S. government delegation to Yemen’s Donor Conference. The conference is co-hosted by the World Bank, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Government of the Republic of Yemen.

Today, T. Christopher Milligan was sworn in as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director for Burma. Assistant Administrator for Asia Nisha Biswal presided over the ceremony and USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah administered the oath of office to Milligan.

Today, Peter Natiello was sworn in as the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Mission Director for Colombia. Beth Hogan, Acting Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, administered the oath of office.

On behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development, I join President Obama in extending my heartfelt condolences to the family of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and to the people of Ethiopia. Under Prime Minister Meles’ leadership, Ethiopia made strides in advancing food security, economic growth, health, and education. Prime Minister Meles was a key driver in the development of comprehensive agricultural and economic development plans in Ethiopia and throughout East Africa that have contributed to broad-based growth in agriculture, industry, and services.